$100,000 reward announced in Mo. missing baby case

By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER | October 17, 2011 | 4:58 PM EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An anonymous donor has offered a $100,000 reward for the return of a missing Kansas City baby or information that leads to the conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance, according to a security consultant who says the donor also hired him to get involved in the case.

Bill Stanton, a New York-based security consultant for television networks, refused Friday to say who the donor was or how the reward would be administered.

Stanton, 47, also has not been clear about his role in Lisa Irwin's disappearance, often referring to himself as a private investigator, but then saying he is in Kansas City as a consultant. He is not licensed in Missouri to work as a private investigator.

"I hope this opens up someone's heart or someone's eyes and they realize this is serious, and we get Lisa home safe and sound," Stanton said at a news conference in front of the family's home, where the 10-month-old child was reported missing on Oct. 4.

"If someone brings that kid right now and says they found this child sitting on a park bench. They bring that kid right here, they get $100,000," he said.

No members of Lisa's family were at the news conference.

Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley reported their daughter missing after Irwin returned from a late shift at work. The parents say she must have been abducted from her crib while her mother and two brothers slept.

Police and federal authorities have conducted extensive searches, including of several areas near the family's home. They also have questioned the baby's parents at length. Police have said there are no suspects in the case and they have no major leads.

FBI agents searched areas around the family's home again Friday in what FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said was an effort to double-check areas that had already been searched at least once.

Det. Kevin Boehm, coordinator of Kansas City's Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline, a nonprofit community organization that has been fielding hundreds of calls on the missing baby case, said the Hotline hasn't been contacted about the $100,000 reward.

TIPS offers up to $1,000 for any information that leads to an arrest, he said.

Boehm said individuals can offer their own rewards, but supplemental rewards are typically offered to generate more awareness when a case has gone cold or interest in the case begins to die down.

Interest in Lisa's disappearance has not waned, he said. The Hotline has been receiving a steady stream of calls since the baby was reported missing.

"We haven't entertained the idea of a supplemental reward at this point," he said.